Ri-Karlo Handy

Last updated
Ri-Karlo Handy
OccupationMedia executive
Known forFounder of Sunwise Media and the Handy Foundation
SpouseJessica Handy
Children2
Website https://www.handyfoundation.com/ https://www.sunwisemedia.com/

Ri-Karlo Handy (born October 1, 1979) is an American media executive and the CEO of Sunwise Media. He is also the founder and chairman of the Handy Foundation. [1]

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Handy was born and raised in Oakland, California. [2] He took a television production class at the age of 14, [3] and subsequently began producing and directing music videos for artists such as En Vogue, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, E-40, and Master P before working in television. [2] Handy produced scripted and unscripted television series for BET, MTV and Fox. [4] [5] He became senior vice president of original programming at Bounce TV in 2014, where he produced series such as Mann & Wife , Family Time and Saints & Sinners . [6] [5] He left after the network was purchased by E. W. Scripps Company in 2017, to found his own production company. [7]

Sunwise Media

Handy co-founded Sunwise Media with Elverage Allen in 2018. He has written, produced and directed a number of films and television series, such as Hope Village and Unsolved History. [8]

Handy is the showrunner of Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward, hosted by Craig Robinson, [5] which premiered on NBC on October 1, 2022. [9] The series follows the Harlem Globetrotters through their tours and games, and shines a light on their community outreach. [10] The show's first season was successful, garnering high ratings among young Black viewers [11] and receiving an Emmy nomination. [12]

He is the creator of the documentary series Rebuilding Black Wall Street: Greenwood about the reconstruction of Greenwood District, Tulsa after its destruction during the Tulsa race massacre. [13] The series, which is hosted by Morris Chestnut, premiered on OWN on September 29, 2023. [14]

Diversity in film editing, Handy Foundation

On June 16, 2020, Handy made a post seeking Black, unionized film editors on a Facebook group for film editors which had around 14,000 members. [15] Handy wanted to make a list of Black editors in the industry after receiving a number of calls from film executives seeking Black film editors in the wake of the George Floyd protests. [16] The post went viral and generated controversy among film editors, with some white editors claiming that it was reverse racism and demanding the post be taken down. An attorney began tweeting screenshots of replies to the post, many of which contained racist comments. [17] [18] > [19]

The controversy sparked a larger discussion about the marginalization of people of color in the film industry, with producers such as Ava DuVernay, Matthew A. Cherry and Gina Prince-Bythewood speaking in support of Handy. [20] [16] At the time, only 5% of unionized production crew members in the industry were Black. [21] In response to these events, Handy established the Handy Foundation, which provides training and job placement programs to early career production crew. [22] The foundation partnered with the Motion Picture Editors Guild, the Los Angeles Urban League, [23] and a number of studios and production companies. [21] [24] African-American Film Critics Association president Gil Robertson IV wrote that initiatives like Handy's were needed to reform the industry. [25]

Awards and recognition

Handy has received the NAACP Image Award and a Prism Award. [5] In 2019, Handy won a gold award at the Spotlight Awards, [2] and a "Social Impact Award" from A Show for a Change. [26] He received the award for "Best Director Documentary Feature" at the 2020 LA Film Festival. [27]

Filmography

YearTitleCredited asNotes
2023 Rebuilding Black Wall Street: GreenwoodCreator
2022–presentHarlem Globetrotters: Play It ForwardExecutive producer
2022Making of a Black Tech Company
2021Greenwood: When Finance Meets Literacy
2020Hope VillageWriter, director, executive producer
2018Mentoring KingsProducer
2018–present Unsolved History Executive producerDocumentary series
201826th Annual Trumpet AwardsTV special
2016–2018 Saints & Sinners
201725th Annual Trumpet AwardsTV special
201624th Annual Trumpet Awards
2015–2017 Mann & Wife
2014–2016 Family Time
2014Off The Chain
2013 Forever Jones
Buying For BillionairesProducer
Houston Beauty Consulting producer
2012Forever Jones HolidayExecutive producerTV special
2011 Party at Tiffany's
Son of a GunCo-executive producer
2010 Pros vs. Joes Consulting producer
2009–2010 Monica: Still Standing Co-executive producer
2009Welcome to DreamlandExecutive producer
2008 Brothers to Brutha Supervising producer
2007 Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is
2006 Madden Nation Consulting producer
2005Carpocalypse
2004 MTV Special: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story TV special

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References

  1. ↑ O’Connor, Nikki. "Cut to Black: Ri-Karlo Handy, Picture Editor & Executive Producer".
  2. 1 2 3 "2019 Spotlight Documentary Film Award Winning Filmmakers". Spotlight Documentary Film Awards.
  3. ↑ "Hollywood: How a Search for Black Editors Helped Launch a Movement for Industry Equity". Story Telling Co.
  4. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (10 January 2014). The Year in Television, 2009. McFarland. p. 747. ISBN   9780786456444.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Bell, BreAnna. "'Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward' Showrunner Ri-Karlo Handy Signs With A3 (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  6. ↑ Kimball, Trevor (2014-05-05). "Bounce TV Orders New Shows Mann & Wife, Sisters". TVfinale.
  7. ↑ Lafayette, Jon. "Sunwise Rises With Focus on Positive, Diverse Series". Broadcasting Cable.
  8. ↑ Poole, Shelia. "Documentary focuses on life - and death - of MLK's brother, A.D. King". AJC.
  9. ↑ "The Harlem Globetrotters are returning to TV". CNBC.
  10. ↑ "The Harlem Globetrotters Know They Gave Basketball Its Style". Men's Healths.
  11. ↑ "Hearst, Sunwise Media Make Plans To Reimagine Saturday Morning TV". Broadcasting Cable.
  12. ↑ "The 50th Annual Daytime Emmys".
  13. ↑ Lafayettepublished, Jon (2023-03-06). "Sunwise Media To Create Series On OWN Backed By GroupM Clients Including Domino's". Broadcasting Cable.
  14. ↑ Bell, BreAnna. "OWN Unveils 'Rebuilding Black Wall Street' Trailer With Morris Chestnut as Host, Sets Premiere Date (EXCLUSIVE)".
  15. ↑ "Ri-Karlo Handy On Hollywood's Diversity Efforts". Deadline.
  16. 1 2 "How a search for Black film editors caused a firestorm on Facebook". Los Angeles Times.
  17. ↑ Tangcay, Jazz (2020-06-18). "After an Online Search for Black Union Editors Turns Racist, Filmmaker Ri-Karlo Handy Hopes for Change". Variety.
  18. ↑ "Film Veteran Who Called for Black Editors Defends Post".
  19. ↑ Harris, Margot. "High-profile white film editors tried to shut down a search for Black creators in a private Facebook group". Insider.
  20. ↑ "Behind the Viral Facebook Post That Illustrates Hollywood's "Growing-Pain Moment"". Vanity Fair. 2020-06-23.
  21. 1 2 "Ri-Karlo Handy Reflects On Disparity In Diversifying Hollywood, Barriers For New Talent & "High-Touch Solutions" – Guest Column". Deadline. 2022-06-18.
  22. ↑ "Explaining Hollywood: How to get a job as a film editor". Los Angeles Times.
  23. ↑ McNary, Dave (2020-06-30). "Film News in Brief: Editors Guild, Urban League, Ri-Karlo Handy Partner on Careers Program". Variety.
  24. ↑ "How new grass-roots networks are boosting diversity on Hollywood film and TV crews". Los Angeles Times.
  25. ↑ "New project launched to diversify Hollywood".
  26. ↑ "December 2019 Award Winners". A Show For A Change.
  27. ↑ "Winter 2020 Winners". Laiffawards.
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